


Fort Garibaldi

by YellowBananaOwl



Series: Summer Christmas [5]
Category: Cabin Pressure
Genre: Episode continuation, M/M, Skipthur
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-09
Updated: 2017-07-09
Packaged: 2018-11-30 02:22:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11453973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YellowBananaOwl/pseuds/YellowBananaOwl
Summary: A little story of what happened in the room at the Garibaldi hotel in Cremona.





	Fort Garibaldi

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Myx](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Myx/gifts).



> Gift for Myx as a part of the Fandot 12 days of Summer Christmas.
> 
> I hope you like it!
> 
> Characters belong to John Finnemore

”Now this isn’t too bad, is it?” Arthur said as they entered their room. Martin looked at him skeptically.

”Are you serious? Did you _see_ the rooms at the Excelsior?”

”Yes, but this isn’t the worst place we’ve been to, is it? Remember that time in Prague?”

”I rather not,” admitted Martin.

”Exactly,” said Arthur. ”So this is not too bad.”

”Are you sure you want the floor?” wondered Martin. ”It doesn’t look very comfortable, or very hygienic.”

”I’ll be fine. I can sleep pretty much anywhere, and being on the floor makes it kind of like a sleepover, doesn’t it? And sleepovers are brilliant!”

”Suit yourself,” said Martin. ”Can I use the bathroom first?”

”Of course, Skip. I’ll make my bed, I mean, _sleeping place_.”

Martin went into the bathroom, which matched the rest of the hotel. The sink had several cracks, there was mould in the corner of the shower, and the toilet didn’t flush until the forth try. He envied Douglas and his posh room. Why had he been so desperate to try to impress that Hester woman? He should have known it would get him in trouble. And then Douglas of course knew how to take advantage of everything and get himself a nice hotel room for free. This was all just his luck. He brushed his teeth and slipped into his pyjamas before joining Arthur in their shared room.

”Look, Skip! I made a fort!” Arthur proudly pointed at a creation of curtains, pillows and chairs with a blanket and pillow underneath it.

”Very nice.”

”I can make room for you too if you want.”

”Thanks, but I think I prefer the bed.”

”Aw, not even for a quick cup of tea? And then we can tell ghost stories, like at a proper sleepover,” Arthur suggested. ”And then you can go back to your bed to sleep. Please? Just for a little bit?”

Oh, God, why did Arthur have to look at him like that?

”Fine, I’ll come down for the tea, but I’m tired and I need sleep.”

”Of course, Skip. I don’t want to interfere with your rules.”

”They’re not _my_ rules, you know.”

”Anyway, grab a pillow and get yourself settled. I’ll be very quick.” Arthur jumped up and stormed into the bathroom. He returned mere seconds later.

”That _was_ very quick,” Martin was impressed. He was sitting under the curtain with his blanket over him.

”I know. I didn’t bother brushing my teeth just yet because we’re having tea. Oh, I should probably have thought about that while you were in there. Do you still want it?”

”Sure,” said Martin and accepted the mug as Arthur joined him on the floor.

”I must admit, Arthur,” said Martin and took a sip of his tea. Somehow Arthur even managed to make a decent cup of tea in a place like this. ”This fort is actually quite nice. It makes the thought of the room less horrible.”

”Yeah, the curtains block the view of the… well, room.”

Martin laughed.

”I’m sorry I made a mess out of this whole stay.”

”What do you mean? You didn’t!”

”But we could have stayed in the fancy room.”

”Oh, that. I don’t think the fancy hotel would have liked me making a fort out of their curtains, and isn’t this where we were supposed to be staying in the first place?”

”Yes, it is.”

”So you didn’t mess up anything,” Arthur insisted.

”I kind of did.”

”You only did it because you wanted to impress Hester.”

”Yes, that was stupid, wasn’t it?”

”A bit.” Arthur said with a smile. He took a sip of his tea and looked at Martin. ”I don’t think Hester is a very nice woman.”

”Me neither.”

”But I thought you liked her,” said Arthur and looked at Martin.

”I thought _you_ did.”

”Me too. I mean, I _thought_ I did. I watched Quest for Camelot thirty-six times, but I really thought she would be nicer.”

”Perhaps it’s Griselda you like and not Hester,” Martin suggested. ”I guess not all celebrities are like they seem to be from the magazines and interviews.”

”Maybe she’s just acting?” Arthur said hopefully. ”Maybe she’s pretending to be mean because she’s mean in the movie she’s filming.”

”Nah,” said Martin. ”I think she’s acting when she seems to be nice.”

”Oh.”

”Sorry.”

”It’s okay,” mumbled Arthur and put their mugs on the outside of the fort. He lay down on his back and stared up at the curtain ceiling. ”Oh, look, Skip! The light from the cars makes it look like stars. It’s brilliant!”

Martin lay down beside him and looked up. ”You’re right, that _is_ quite brilliant.”

”I’m kind of wishing I didn’t make that collage though,” Arthur said with a sigh. ”It feels like such a waste. I should have just eaten that pasta. But that’s too late now. It’s all covered in glue.”

Martin smiled and laughed a bit. ”We’re in Italy. We can get you more pasta.”

Arthur joined in on the laughing. ”That’s true. Maybe we can make a new collage of someone else. Someone who’s _not_ mean. Maybe - oh, I know. Snoopadoop!”

”Your dog?”

”Yeah! She’s brilliant! And she’s not mean, except when I forget to feed her, then she gets a tad irritated. Yes, I’ll do that when I get home. Brilliant.”

Martin never ceased to be impressed with Arthur’s way of finding upsides to everything. He was quite envious of this ability, but felt he might be a bit too realistic to be able to do that.

Arthur started laughing properly.

”What?” Martin smiled and turned towards him. ”What’s so funny?”

”Do you know what Mum and I did?”

”No.”

”Hester asked for lemon tea, so Mum told me to put the kettle on and find the lemon hand wipes. You know, the ones we hand out to passengers after meals.”

”You didn’t!”

”We did.” Arthur said proudly. ”They’re not dangerous, Mum checked. But they’re not very tasty either.”

”And that was Carolyn’s idea?”

”Yes, we’ve done it before, but it’s been ages. I guess Hester really annoyed Mum.”

”Serves her right. The way she spoke to you was way out of line, all you did was say your name.”

”She apologised for that, though.”

”But still, she shouldn’t have said that to you.”

”And she shouldn’t have yelled at you on the phone and called you an incompe-”

”I remember what she called me,” Martin interrupted.

”Oh, sorry,” Arthur apologised.

”It’s fine.”

The two of them stared up at their starry curtain sky for a while before Arthur suddenly spoke.

”Hester’s wrong, you know,” said Arthur and looked at him. ”You’re not incompetent. You’re a brilliant pilot, I mean captain.”

”No, I’m not.”

”I think so.”

”You think everyone is brilliant, Arthur.”

”No, I don’t.”

”Yes, you do.”

”Okay, maybe I do a bit. I still mean it, though.”

Martin smiled vaguely. ”Thanks.”

”I’m sure that your plan would have worked if Douglas hadn’t had a plan of his own.”

Martin sighed. ”Please let us not talk about that. I don’t know _how_ we were ever going to pay for -”

”I still want to thank you,” Arthur cut in.

”For what?”

”For inviting me to stay in the posh room with you.”

”Oh.”

”I mean, you could have just stayed there by yourself and let me and Douglas stay here, but you didn’t.”

”It would have been mean to let you stay here when I had all those rooms.”

”Didn’t you have room for Douglas too?”

”Er… I guess there would have been room for him as well.”

”Then why didn’t you ask him?”

Martin didn’t know how to answer that. Why hadn’t he asked Douglas? Maybe he wouldn’t have put his own plan in motion then? But that would mean Martin putting himself or MJN in great economical trouble, so maybe it was good that he did. To be honest, the thought of asking Douglas never crossed his mind. Maybe it was because Arthur was there when it happened? Or maybe he knew that Arthur would appreciate sharing a room with him? Or maybe he just wanted company in that big room, and Arthur makes great company.

”I don’t know,” he just said. ”I really don’t know.”

”It’s not important,” said Arthur. ”I like it when it’s just you and me. I don’t care what kind of room we’re in.”

”Really?”

”Yeah, I like spending time with you.”

”Even when I mess things up?” Martin wondered.

”You don’t mess things up, Skip! And if you do, it’s not always just your fault. I mess up too sometimes.”

Martin laughed. ”I’m not entirely sure it’s a smart thing to have the two of us working for the same company.”

”What? What do you mean? You’re not leaving, right?” Arthur sat up.

”What? No! I was just meaning that the two of us tend to mess things up and that it must be a challenge for the people around us. I’m not going anywhere.”

Arthur lay down and sighed with relief. ”Oh, that’s good. I would not have liked that.”

They fell silent again, and Martin wondered if it was time for him to get off the floor and get into his own bed, but he couldn’t get himself to move.

”Oh,” he suddenly remembered something. ”Did you manage to fill all the drawers, or do you need to borrow some of my stuff?”

”What?”

”You told me you had to put something in every drawer when you were in hotel rooms.”

”Oh, that? No, I haven’t done that.”

”But you told me you always did that.”

”I do it to make it feel like home, so I never bother when we share a room. ” said Arthur.

”Why not?”

”I don’t have to. It already feels like home when we’re sharing.”

”Really?” Martin looked at him and smiled. The thought of someone feeling at home with _him_ sent a warm fuzzy feeling to the middle of his chest.

Before he had the chance to think of something more to say, Arthur’s lips were on his, and before he had the chance to react he had pulled away again.

”Was that weird? That was weird, right?” Arthur sat up abruptly and looked like he didn’t know what to do with himself.

”A bit weird,” Martin admitted.

”I’m so sorry, just go back to your bed and pretend that never happened, okay? Good.”

”Stop freaking out!”

”Just ignore me, I’m not here! I’m just the invisible steward in the curtain fort.”

”Arthur, I didn’t say it was bad-weird.”

”What?”

”Do it again, maybe it’ll be less weird this time.”

”You _want_ me to do it again?”

”Yes.”

Arthur grinned widely, leaned down, and softly pressed his lips to Martin’s. A small hum escaped Martin’s mouth and his hands instantly went behind Arthur’s neck to pull him in closer. Their lips parted, but their foreheads were still touching.

”Less weird?” whispered Arthur.

”Not weird at all,” Martin whispered with a smile. His hands had still not let go of Arthur’s neck, and Arthur’s hand went up to touch Martin’s cheek before resting on his chest.

”Skip?” Arthur said hesitantly.

”Yes, Arthur?”

”You don’t have to go back to your bed if you don’t want to.”


End file.
